Aelix Therapeutics, a partner company of CataloniaBio, has begun the initial clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the therapeutic HTI vaccine against HIV. AELIX-002 is a Phase I randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study. The Aelix vaccine incorporates the HTI immunogen designed by Dr. Christian Brander, the company’s current chief scientist, and will be administered in a prime-boost regimen, using first a DNA vector and then a Modified Vaccinia Ankara Virus (MVA) vector. This combined administration is expected to significantly enhance immune responses to HIV.

Only individuals diagnosed within less than six months after their initial HIV infection and immediately treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) will be included in the study. The enrollment of early diagnosed and early treated HIV-infected individuals in the trial should optimize the expansion of vaccine-associated immune responses.

The trial is taking place at the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona (Catalonia, Spain) and is performed by investigators from the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute and the Fight AIDS Foundation. Results are expected in 2018.

Aelix Therapeutics received an investment round of 11.5 million euros in 2016 led by Ysios Capital and participated by Caixa Capital Risc and Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Photo: Jordi Naval, co-founder and CEO of Aelix Therapeutics